Location: Eastern Asia, between China and South Korea

Map references: Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 120,540 sq km
land area: 120,410 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries: total 1,673 km, China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
military boundary line: 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned

International disputes: short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea

Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east

Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 18%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 74%
other: 7%

Irrigated land: 14,000 sq km (1989)

Environment:
current issues: localized air pollution attributable to inadequate industrial controls
natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; subject to occasional typhoons which occur during the early fall
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Environmental Modification, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely populated

NOTE: The information regarding Korea, North on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea, North Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea, North Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.